When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫无掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy—love, marriage, birth—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated(复杂的) .
My definition of happiness is "the capacity for enjoyment". The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious about our "right" to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.
Happiness isn't about what happens to us--it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.As people grow older, they ______.
| A．feel it harder to experience happiness |
| B．associate their happiness less with others |
| C．will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness |
| D．tend to believe responsibility means happiness |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?
| A．She cares little about her own health |
| B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling |
| C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life. |
| D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?
| A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness |
| B．Psychologists’ opinion is well proved by Grandma's case. |
| C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings |
| D．Grandma's happiness came from modest expectations of life, |
People who equal happiness with wealth and success ______.
| A．consider pressure something blocking their way |
| B．stress their right to happiness too much |
| C．are at a loss to make correct choices |
| D．are more likely to be happy |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negative. |
| B．Each man is the master of his own fate. |
| C．Success leads to happiness. |
| D．Happy is he who is content. |
Babysitter(保姆) Wanted
I am seeking a babysitter for my 6-month-old son. A few hours on Saturdays and Sundays to help me and then other times as needed. He or she should be over 18, responsible, loving, warm, and have some experience in caring for babies. The pay is $10 an hour.
If this sounds like a good job to you, please reply torebecharv@aol.com or call 800-4964.
Office Manager Wanted
Our company is looking for a full-time experienced manager to run the business. Strong skills in organization and business management are required for this position. Also, he or she should be familiar with computers.
Please reply to jim@californiaaquatics.com or call 800-6978 to apply.
Waiter/ Waitress Wanted
A restaurant is looking for an experienced waiter / waitress. Knowledge of wines and experience in dining are necessary. Must work well under pressure and understand the basics of fine dining and customer service.
If you’re interested, please contact us at job-tkupe-1329358152@craigslist.org to apply.
This is a part-time job.
Office Cleaner Wanted
Looking for a Part-time job? A position in the Mississauga area needs an office cleaner! Part-time 4 hours a day from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.
Some experience is necessary. Pay: $15 per hour
Reply to: job-p3b7u-1365632206@craigslist.org. or call 800-8197.Which of the following position is a full-time job?
| A．Babysitter. | B．Office manager. |
| C．Waiter / waitress. | D．Office cleaner. |
If you want to apply for the job as a babysitter, you should send an email to ______.
| A．job-p3b7u-1365632206@craigslist.org |
| B．job-tkupe-1329358152@craigslist.org |
| C．jim@californiaaquatics.com |
| D．rebecharv@aol.com |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The office cleaner has to work three hours each day. |
| B．One can apply for a waiter or waitress by telephone. |
| C．Experience is necessary for all these four jobs. |
| D．A babysitter earns $5 more than an office cleaner per hour. |
Which of the following is necessary for a waiter / waitress?
| A．Being familiar with computers. | B．Having knowledge of wines. |
| C．Knowing more about menus. | D．Working well with others. |
I woke up late and had breakfast in a hurry. I had never been late and didn’t want my boss to be unsatisfied.
However, it seemed that the day wasn’t a lucky one for me from the very second I left my flat. The moment I wanted to rush downstairs, one of my stiletto heels (细高跟) broke. I had to return to change my red shoes. I also had to change my purse and other little things that I had tried to match with the shoes. I was sure I would be late for work.
On my way to work I had to wait for over half an hour because of an accident. I had no choice but to wait. I phoned my boss and he told me that it was no problem, but he needed me for the meeting with the Japanese clients (客户) that morning.
Finally, I arrived at the office one hour later. I had to keep calm and be fresh for the meeting to make the clients sure that our plan was the best for their future business project. However, I left the plan I had made the night before at home and was going to make a presentation (介绍) about it to the clients. I was about to get angry when I realized that I had a copy of it in my office.
At last, the meeting came to an end and it turned out to be successful. But I have to say that I had a terrible day, full of incidents.Which of the following is NOT the reason of the writer being late for her work?
| A．She got up late in the morning. |
| B．She changed her purse and other little things. |
| C．One of her shoe heels broke. |
| D．She had a traffic accident on the way to work. |
According to the passage, what could we learn about the writer?
| A．Her boss was very angry with her. |
| B．She often arrived at her office on time. |
| C．She left her plan on the bus. |
| D．She was nervous at the meeting. |
What did the clients think of the writer’s presentation?
| A．Dull. | B．Just so-so. | C．Excellent. | D．Terrible. |
Which old saying could be used to describe the writer’s incidents?
| A．Failure is the mother of success. |
| B．A good beginning makes a good ending. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| D．One trouble never comes alone. |
Nicole Delian, 17, suffers from a condition that makes her sleep up to 19 hours a day and as much as 64 days in a row． Nicole Delian is tired of sleeping．
This 17-year-old teenager from North Fayette, Pa．, has a rare condition called Kleine-Levin Syndrome -- or "Sleeping Beauty Syndrome" -- that makes her sleep 18 to 19 hours a day．
And when she does wake up, she is often so tired out that she is in a sleepwalking state and doesn't remember doing basic things like eating, according to KDKA-TV．
Nicole's sleepwalking state has been so severe that she once slept through the holidays, awaking one day in January when she finally opened Christmas gifts alongside her family, according to ChartiersValley．Patch．com．．
"She's never really adjusted to it," her mother, Vicki Delien told the website． "She's 17 now and it really upsets her． She's missed out on a lot．"
Delien told talk show host Jeff Probst that the teen has at times slept 32 to 64 days in a row, waking only in sleepwalking mode to eat．
Kleine-Levin Syndrome is incredibly rare, only affecting about l,000 people worldwide, and very hard to diagnose．
In Nicole's' case, it took 25 months for doctors to diagnose her, according to ChartiersValley．Patch．com, and everything from a virus, to epilepsy（癫痫） to West Nile was mentioned, including, unfortunately, the possibility she was faking it for attention．．
When a typical episode of Sleeping Beauty Syndrome begins, the patient becomes progressively drowsy（昏昏欲睡的） and sleeps for most of the day and night, waking only to eat or go to the bathroom, according to the Klein-Levin Syndrome Foundation website． "When awake, the patient's whole behavior is changed, often appearing “stupid" or childlike． When awake he experiences confusion, complete lack of energy, and lack of emotions．"
Patients also report that everything seems out of focus, and that they are hypersensitive to noise and light． Some patients also have intense food cravings（渴望）．
The Delians did not say whether Nicole has experienced these symptoms．
There is no known cure, but Nicole's family is using a combination of epilepsy and narcolepsy（发作性嗜睡病）medication to minimize the incidents to just two a year．What's the reflection of Nicole's sleepwalking state?
| A．Being forgetful． | B．Missing Christmas． |
| C．Sleeping around the clock． | D．Being exhausted and bad-tempered． |
According to the passage, Kleine-Levin Syndrome．
| A．is not impossible for doctors to diagnose |
| B．affects approximately l,000 people all round the country |
| C．is also known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome which only affects females |
| D．makes those suffering this condition sleep as much as 64 days in a row without eating |
Frorn the passage we can infer that．
| A．the disease will change the patients' behavior for good |
| B．the case of Nicole has been covered several times by different media |
| C．the．patients of this kind are more and more sleepy when the syndrome begins |
| D．the patients of this kind become too sensitive to being exposed to any noise and light |
According to the passage, Nicole．
| A．was once suspected of lying about her condition |
| B．has a good appetite for food because of the disease |
| C．has adapted to the condition and can well cope with it |
| D．will be cured of the disease by using the combined medication |
It is "one of the few bright spots in the Chinese economy," says Zeng Ming． He is talking about e-commerce． Mr Zeng, the chief strategy officer for Alibaba, a giant Chinese Internet firm, predicts that digital transactions on his firm's platforms will top l trillion yuan （$159 billion） this year-more than Amazon's and eBay's combined． That is a bold claim, but consider what happened on Singles Sunday．
Invented a few years ago by students and seized upon by digital marketers, this festival for lonely hearts falls annually on the llth day of the llth month （since l is the loneliest number）．It is like St Valentine's Day, only worse． Singletons shower each other with tender gifts: a barrage of pearls; a storm of sweets．
This November llth they spent a surprising 19 billion yuan on Alibaba's online platforms-a fourfold increase on a year ago, and more than double what Americans spent online last Cyber Monday （the Monday after Thanksgiving, when retailers urge Americans to shop online）． About 100m purchases were logged, accounting for 80% of the packages shipped that day． Couriers（怏递员） were buried in parcels．
So life is good for China's e-tailers, then? Not exactly． The number of digital marketers is increasing and online sales are booming． Consumers are enjoying lower prices, better service and more variety． The problem? The pressure on profits in Chinese e-commerce is worse than in America, reckons Elinor Leung of CLSA, a broker． "Almost no one makes money," she says．
The fiercest battles are being fought between online retailers and their bricks-and-mortar（实体的） rivals．Dangdang, a firm． that resembles Amazon,．and 360buy, another online retailer, have cut prices fiercely． Tencent, a cash-rich online giant known for its instant-messaging software, is splashing out to win market share． 360buy has also just raised $400m from investors to do the same． But it is unclear how much longer such firms can burn through capital．What's the best title of this passage?
| A．The Ambition of Alibaba |
| B．Fierce Competition between Retailers |
| C．A Newly Sprung Festival for the Singles |
| D．Chinese Booming and Developing E-commerce |
According to Zeng Ming, this year Alibaba will．
| A．outweigh Amazon and eBay in worldwide influence |
| B．rank top among all the Internet firms |
| C．have more than 159 billion dollars' sale |
| D．create another sales miracle just like the one on Singles Day |
How many packages were shipped on November ll th from Alibaba's online platforms?
| A．About 80 million． | B．About 100 million． |
| C．About 125 million． | D．About 180 million． |
What's the author's attitude towards online retailers in China?
| A．Optimistic． | B．Concerned． |
| C．Sympathetic． | D．Indifferent． |
Researchers at Yale, Texas A&M and Boston University predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by more than 463,000 square miles, or l．2 million square kilometers． That is equal to 20,000 American football fields becoming urban every day for the first three decades of this century．
The growth in urban areas will go with the construction of roads and buildings, water and sanitation facilities, and energy and transport systems that will transform land cover and cities globally． Recent estimates suggest that between $25 trillion（万亿） and $30 trillion will be spent on infrastructure（基础设施） worldwide by 2030, with $100 billion a year in China alone．
"Considering the long life and near unavoidability of infrastructure investments, it will be critical for current urbanization-related policies to consider their lasting impacts," said Karen Seto, lead author of the study． "We have a huge opportunity to shape how cities develop and their environmental impacts．"
Nearly half of the increase in high-probability ----defined as greater than 75 percent ---- urban expansion is forecasted to occur in Asia, with China and India absorbing 55 percent of the regional total． In China, urban- expansion is expected to create a l,l00-mile coastal urban corridor from Hangzhou to Shenyang． In India, urban expansion will be gathered around seven state capital cities, with large areas of low-probability growth forecasted for the Himalaya region where many small villages and towns currently exist．
Africa's urban land cover will grow the fastest, at 590 percent above the 2000 level of 16,000 square miles． Urban expansion win be concentrated in that continent's five regions: the Nile River in Egypt; the coast of West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea; the northern shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya and Uganda and extending into Rwanda and Burundi; the Kano region in northern Nigeria; and greater Addis Ababa, Ethiopia．
"Urban expansion is concentrated in． only a few areas where there are large cities and industry," said Seto． "From the northern shore of Lake Victoria down to Rwanda is also a major hotspot of urban expansion．"
In North America, where 78 percent of the total population lives in urban areas, urban land cover will nearly double by 96,000 square miles by 2030．The study also forecasts that 48 of the 221 countries in the study will experience insignificant amounts of urban expansion． "As for China, the expansion of urban area means．
| A．$ 100 billion will be spent on infrastructure a year |
| B．creating a coastal urban corridor from Hangzhou to Qingdao |
| C．it will become the fastest developing country in the next decade |
| D．it will make up 55% of the increase in urban expansion in Asia |
According to the passage infrastructure doesn't include．
| A．construction of roads | B．sanitation facilities |
| C．energy systems | D．land cover transformation |
In paragraph three the underlined word “their lasting impacts” refers to the impacts of .
| A．the development of cities | B．urbanization-related policies |
| C．infrastructure in vestments | D．China’s expansion of urban area |
The best title for this passage should be .
| A．The limitation of urban expansion |
| B．More investment on infrastructure |
| C．The fast development of the third world |
| D．The future urban expansion of the world |